Comment: A Constitutional Right to Know: Are Research Participants Entitled to Results of Genetic Tests?

Abstract

This Comment will explore the issue of incidental and future genetic research findings and the participant's right to receive such information in the context of constitutional law. It will attempt to answer the question: does a participant in a voluntary genetic study have a right of access to the results? Thus far, there has been no case law that establishes an answer to the question. Under First Amendment law, a tenuous "right to hear" doctrine has been described, but it refers primarily to citizens' right to absorb a diversity of opinions and gather relevant facts in a political and social context. Similarly, the Fourth and Ninth Amendments are somewhat analogous to the question at hand, but prove ultimately unavailing. A right to the results of genetic tests may, however, be derived from the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment provides that no person may be deprived of property without due process of law. Is your genetic information your property? This is a question that has not yet been addressed by the courts and that this Comment will attempt to answer.

Strand, Nicolle, Comment: A Constitutional Right to Know: Are Research Participants Entitled to Results of Genetic Tests? (April 2013). University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 15, No. 1299, 2013. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2343722